Orthodox Church in Germany

The Orthodox Church has about 1.3 million believers the third largest Christian denomination in Germany.

History

The Bishop Athanasius took place after the exile in Trier a new home and the Apostles of the Slavs Method of Salonika was around 870 detained in Ellwangen (the city has become the place of pilgrimage of Orthodox Christians ). In Nienkerken at Corvey was in the 9th century it an important school was taught in the Greek. The Basilianerabt Gregory of Burtscheid (* 930 in Calabria, then part of the Byzantine Empire; † 999) founded a Byzantine monastery in Burtscheid. After Emperor Otto II had married the princess Theophano, Greek scholars came to their allegiance to the Holy Roman Empire.

Strictly speaking, one can only with the Oriental schism in 1054 and the separation of Catholics and Orthodox speak of a beginning of Orthodoxy in Germany, given that the separation was carried out strictly geographically, there was initially no Orthodox in Germany.

With the formation of foreign communities of people from Orthodox countries one can speak of a presence of Orthodoxy in Germany from the late 17th century.

In Germany represented Orthodox Churches

Eastern Orthodox Church

The Orthodox dioceses in Germany form the Orthodox Catholic Church in Germany together since February 27, 2010. There are ten dioceses which, as a rule - at least the majority - members comprise a nation, and belonging to different patriarchates.

The dioceses are each placed under the autocephalous Church of the home country. Figures in 2003, source, see References:

Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople Opel Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Germany ( KdöR ) ( bishopric: Bonn ): 450,000 members, 70 congregations and over 150 places of worship, Metropolitan: Augoustinos Lambardakis, 3 bishops, 65 priests
Exarchate of orthodox churches of Russian tradition in Western Europe ( Bishop Location: Paris ): 100 members, 1 priest
Ukrainian Orthodox Eparchy of Western Europe ( Bishop Office: London ): The eparchy has 3,600 members, 6 priests

Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Western and Central Europe, ( bishop's seat: Paris): 20,000 members, 13 congregations, 9 priests

Berlin diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church - Moscow Patriarchate ( KdöR ), ( bishop's seat: Berlin): 250,000 members, 42 churches, 2 archbishops, 33 priests
Russian Orthodox Church Abroad and the Russian Orthodox Diocese of the Orthodox Bishop of Berlin and Germany (based in Munich)

Serbian Orthodox Diocese of Central Europe ( bishop's seat: Munich or Himmelsthür b Hildesheim. ): 300,000 members, 33 churches, 1 bishop, 36 priests

Romanian Orthodox Metropolis of Germany, Central and Northern Europe ( KdöR bishopric: Nürnberg ): 300,000 members, 33 churches, 1 Metropolitan, 28 priests

Bulgarian Diocese of Western and Central Europe ( bishop's seat: Berlin ) of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church: 60,000 members, 4 municipalities, 1 Metropolitan, 5 priests

Western European Diocese of the Georgian Orthodox Church ( bishop's seat: Tbilisi / Georgia): 30,000 members, 3 churches, 1 priest

Oriental Orthodox Churches

Ethiopian Orthodox Church: several communities; the communities in Northern Germany are subject to the bishop of London, the. southern Germany to the bishop with the seat in Rome
Armenian Apostolic Orthodox Church, Diocese of Cologne, Archbishop Karekin 1 Bekdjian
Coptic Orthodox Church: Damian, bishop based in the monastery in Hoexter - Brenkhausen
Syrian Orthodox Church of Antioch Archdiocese of Germany, Bishop Matthias Philoxenos Nayis headquartered in Warburg, North Rhine-Westphalia
Orthodox Church of Eritrea

Noncanonical Orthodox dioceses

Macedonian Orthodox Church
Greek Altkalendarier various directions
German Deanery of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church - Kiev Patriarchate
Syrian Orthodox Church of Europe

Teaching facilities

Since 1995, the former " Institute of Orthodox Theology " at the University of Munich, was developed to educational institution of Orthodox Theology of the University of Munich and set up an appropriate graduate degree program. In order that exists in the German language, the first and only opportunity of an orthodox university studies ( including the possibility of promotion in the Orthodox theology ).

Since 2002, employees have the opportunity to complete a study of Orthodox theology with an emphasis on Coptic Orthodox theology and the BA degree in theology at the Theological Institute of the monastery Kröffelbach.

In addition, there is - with the primary goal of training orthodox religious teachers - a chair for Orthodox theology in the context of the Center for Religious Studies at the Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster. There is also at the University of Erfurt a religion scientifically oriented Chair of Orthodox Christianity.

Ecumenism

Some Orthodox churches since 1974 have been working with in the Council of Christian Churches in Germany (ACK ), others were later joined her. The canonical Eastern Orthodox churches (and five alternates ) on the KOKID represented for several years in a joint delegation of five members, the Eastern Churches are each in itself a full member. The Orthodox Churches also one of the five members of the Board (currently: Archpriest Radu Constantin Miron ), and also work in the Ecumenical Centre with a consultant (Marina Kiroudi ) and in the theological Commission ( DÖSTA ) with. Likewise, the Orthodox Churches are involved in most regional and local working groups of the ACK.

There are also bilateral relations with the German Bishops' Conference and the Evangelical Church in Germany with discussions on theological issues and diaconal- charitable cooperation. For example, several documents were adopted to dogmatic questions in a joint working group of the Greek Orthodox Metropolitan Church and the Roman Catholic Episcopal Conference, most recently in 2006 a paper on common understanding of the ministry. As of 2007, this working group has been redesigned and extended, so that they are now representative of the entire orthodoxy in Germany on one side and - includes the Roman Catholic German Bishops' Conference, so an official level of discussion between the Orthodox and the Roman Catholic Church in this - as before representing the country. Between the KOKID and the EKD a handout for Evangelical Orthodox marriages has been developed and signed.

Religious Education

As early as 1985 the State of North Rhine -Westphalia had introduced a regular orthodox religious instruction at that time, however, applied only to the Greek children, but has since become - under the responsibility of KOKID - was extended to all Orthodox students. Meanwhile, Lower Saxony has introduced a regular German religious education for Orthodox Christian children in public schools; the KOKID acts as church partners, Ancient Near Eastern children can voluntarily participate in this lesson. In some other states ( Hesse, Rhineland -Palatinate, Baden- Württemberg) appropriate plans are under development, or it is offered religion (similar to Muslim children) in the context of a native-language supplement learning, by promoting this offer, however, in practice, often only for Greek-speaking children exists. In Bavaria the authorization given by the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of religious instruction was noisy decision of the Bavarian State Ministry of Education and Culture from February 6, 1956, No. 93173 as a standard subject (compulsory ) within the meaning of Article 136, paragraph 2 of the Bavarian Constitution recognized. Today, the Greek, the Serbian and the Russian Orthodox Church have, as well, from the ancient Near East, the Syrian Orthodox Church to receive this recognition. It is even possible to prove the orthodox religious doctrine as Abitur and complete. There are now a common Bavarian curriculum for the KOKID and now the Orthodox Catholic Church in Germany represented Orthodox dioceses. Since 2003 there is also a presentation of KOKID for Orthodox religious instruction; this is currently the Chairman of the Commission, Metropolitan Augoustinos may be present; Country coordinators for Bavaria, Baden- Württemberg, Hesse, Lower Saxony and North Rhine -Westphalia are responsible for through - or introduction of Orthodox religious education in the various states on behalf of the Commission of the Orthodox Church in Germany / association of dioceses.

Tendencies to " German - Orthodox Church "

From ecclesiological and historical reasons, there is no " German Orthodox " national church, although recently some attempts have been observed in this direction under German converts. Thus was founded in the 1990s with the German Orthodox Holy Trinity Monastery in Buchhagen the first and only German Orthodox monastery. Formal ( juridical ) it is subject, although the Bulgarian Orthodox Diocese of Western and Central Europe, but is in accordance with the statutes of the " German Orthodoxy " obliged. Furthermore, there is the Skete of St. Spyridon, which is juridically part of the Serbian Orthodox Diocese of Central Europe.

Overall, the proportion of ethnic German is within the Orthodox Church in Germany but rather marginal: Well over 95 % of all Orthodox Christians in this country have a " migration background". Officially German -speaking Orthodox communities there are only in Berlin, Dusseldorf, Hamburg and Munich, although in some communities is sometimes used as a liturgical language (especially the Russian dioceses ) to partly German. Therefore, in 2007 the KOKID called a of representatives of all Orthodox dioceses ( including the Russian Church Abroad ) composite Joint Commission for creating and unifying Orthodox liturgical texts in German language to life, the results still have to be approved by the Episcopal Assembly.